Conservation Drones MAJA Edition

Over the last few weeks, ConservationDrones.org has been collaborating with Remo Peduzzi and Simon Wunderlin (from ResearchDrones LLC) to develop the next generation of drones for conservation applications. Remo and Simon bring with them expert knowledge on the building and configuration of UAVs.

After extensive testing of various airframes, we have decided to adapt the Bormatec-MAJA airframe, designed by a German company specifically for UAV use.

Conservation Drones MAJA Edition

Although this airframe is more expensive than previous models of Conservation Drones, the MAJA has several unique features that are well worth its cost. For one, the top half of the entire length of MAJA’s fuselage fully opens like a hatch to expose a huge storage area, allowing easy installation, access and manipulation of onboard equipment in the field, including the autopilot, batteries and camera.

The MAJA airframe itself weighs about 1.5 kg, and can carry a payload of another 1.5 kg! This essentially allows the MAJA to carry two 5000 mAh batteries as well as two video/still-photo cameras!

Top half of entire length of MAJA’s fuselage fully opens like a hatch, exposing huge storage area for electronics and equipment.

The MAJA drone can be fitted with either 1.8 m or 2.2 m wings, depending on payload and range requirements. Our test model was fitted with the latest autopilot system from 3DRobotics (APM 2.5), an external GPS module, all metal-gear servos, telemetry and a 5000 mAh battery.

However, what has gotten us most excited about the MAJA is that, due to its superb flight characteristics the MAJA drone can perform fully autonomous landing within a 100 x 100 m landing area.

APM 2.5 for Conservation Drones MAJA Edition.

Unlike previous models of Conservation Drones, the MAJA edition is fully loaded with high quality materials with no expenses spared. The reason for doing so is that after having flown our Conservation Drones across various deployment sites in Asia and Africa and upon feedback from drone operators, we decided that in the long run, it makes more economical sense to invest in higher quality build materials to ensure more reliable and longer lasting drone units.

One unit of Conservation Drones MAJA Edition is currently being tested in the field by Sander van Andel in Gabon. Two additional units of MAJA are being assembled for WWF-Nepal to help with their fight against wildlife poachers in Chitwan and Bardia National Parks.

Special announcement:
Since the launch of the ConservationDrones.org initiative, Lian Pin Koh and Serge Wich have been receiving overwhelming requests from conservation researchers and practitioners for us to assemble drones for various conservation-related projects and applications around the world. Since we are full-time university researchers ourselves, we have been struggling to meet those requests, as much as we would like to help everyone who has approached us.

Our solution is to partner with Remo Peduzzi and Simon Wunderlin from ResearchDrones LLC, who share our philosophy of harnessing low-cost UAV technology for conservation use.

ConservationDrones.org, in collaboration with ResearchDrones LLC, will continue to develop new models and share whatever we have learnt on our website. Conservation Drones MAJA Edition, as well as future drone models, will be assembled and shipped by ResearchDrones LLC.

A few questions:
1) When will Research Drones LLC be ready to mnarket their drones so that tgosse of us who would like to use them for conservation work won’t have to be DIYers but can get the drone prefitted before we receive it?
Ans: ResearchDrones is already starting to accept orders. But they have a backlog of requests from people who have been requesting those drones over the last few months! You could try to email Remo at researchdrones@gmail.com to enquire about it.

2) We would be interested in using a drone for doing inventoiruies and for monitoring invasive non-natiive plants. We do not know anyone doing this. If you do, we would appreciate getting touch with them.
3) Is there some way we can partner with you and/or Research Drones LLC in developing a drone which can do invasive pkant inventoriesa in a variety or habitats: forests, open woodlands, meadows, wetlands, river edges, etc.?
Ans: Yes, Serge Wich and I (Lian Pin Koh) would be keen to work with you. We are ecologists ourselves. Let’s continue this discussion over email (conservationdrones@gmail.com).

Hi I am contacting you from a farm in Iceland. Now in the autum is the time for roundup of the sheeps and with fewer sheep farmers we have a shortage of people to do the roundup in the mountains and in icelandic low growing birch woods. The ide is to use drones to locate the sheeps to then later go to that gps location for gathering the sheeps. Also is there a need for using thermal camera to locate sheeps who have been lost in snowstorm and are under snow. Do you know of anyone developing drones for this purpose or maybe you can help us?